Tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, high winds threaten midwestern United States into Thursday

Tornadoes were reported in Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana and Oklahoma on Wednesday night.

More severe weather is in store for Thursday, Accuweather meteorologist Danielle Knittle told USA TODAY, with thunderstorms and high winds forecast across the midwestern United States from the Mississippi River Valley to the Ohio Valley, threatening cities including Cincinnati and Memphis.

With cold and gusting winds from the Great Lakes and upper Midwest to the East Coast, Knittle said there will be potential "tree damage [and] power outages," affecting cities including St. Louis.

"It's going to be a pretty chilly day Friday," Knittle said, adding that the winds should ease by Saturday.

Thunderstorms are forecast to develop from the Mid-Atlantic into parts of Virginia and the Carolinas on Thursday morning, Knittle added.

Tornado warnings were issued Wednesday night in northeastern Arkansas, southwestern Ohio and through parts of Tennessee, according to Weather.com.

The National Weather Service, meanwhile, issued a tornado watch until 2 a.m. Thursday for a large swath of the Midwest as a cold front brought severe conditions to Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Near Denmark Iowa, in the southeastern part of the state, a storm produced softball-sized hail — 4 inches in diameter — on Wednesday evening, Weather.com reported.

Fierce winds were creating havoc elsewhere, with gusts from 70-80 mph reported in Illinois, where multiple semis were blown over on Interstate 57 near Arcola, according to Weather.com. An 84-mph gust was reported at Mountain Lake, Virginia, near the state's border with West Virginia.